


'we' is the kindest word in the english language

by therudestflower



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Big John's Legitimately A+ Parenting, Child Neglect, Domestic Fluff, Extended sleepovers, Friendship, Gen, It takes a village especially when someone isn't doing their job, Luke Maybank's A+ Parenting, Remember when getting the right shoes before school was life or death, in that vein, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26548099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therudestflower/pseuds/therudestflower
Summary: “Bird, you pick fast and we’ll go to the diner for supper.”“Me too?” JJ asked.“You’re ‘we,’ aren’t you?” Dad asked.When John B tells his dad, "We need to go get school shoes," Dad automatically adds JJ to the "we", just like he always does.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 71





	'we' is the kindest word in the english language

Because they were going to a new school and John B’s pinchy tennis shoes had dirty laces and a no-name label, he knocked on Dad’s office door really hard after he and JJ found breakfast. Dad hadn’t been out of his office in two days, and he needed to step up and at least give his son some money, _seriously_.

He and JJ weren’t as cool as Herman Miles, for example, but by the end of elementary school they’d both kissed girls and said they’d had beer and were telling the truth. They had to hold onto that cool status and bring it into junior high, and they couldn’t do that in the lame ass shoes they were wearing.

“Don’t bug him,” JJ said. He’d been sleeping over for two days and this morning Dad made him take a shower, but didn’t tell him to leave. He hovered behind John B with dry toast in his hand.

“It’s okay,” John B said, “this is important. We need to start out cool, we’re going to be in junior high as in almost high school. We gotta be cool.”

“'We' nothing, it’s your dad you’re bugging.”

Dad cracked the door open, and huffed when he scoped that his own son wasn’t trying to steal his research--obviously--and opened the door.

“Are we out of food?”

“No sir,” John B said. “I need money for shoes.”

Dad stepped out of the office and all at once hauled John B over his shoulder. John B laughed and hit Dad on the back while he grabbed his feet and examined them. “Uh uh, they are fine.” Dad pinched the toe of his shoe and hummed. “Damn. Alright. You do need shoes.”

John B got put down. “Told you. And you just finished that job with Mr. JaMarcus, right, so you have money.” Dad showed it off, hundreds and twenties all bound up together and John B counted it twice and it was so much.

One time, JJ’s creepy dad had even more money on the big table in their house, but JJ grabbed John B’s wrist when he reached for the money, and shoved him out of the house saying, “Dude, c’mon don’t be stupid.” But they both had a blast playing with Dad’s money while he was in his office, and that wasn’t stupid, and it was how John B knew there was shoe money.

Dad looked back to his office then back at them. “Okay, you boys try not to burning down the house for one, two hours, then I’ll take you to O’Dells Bootery.”

John B wrinkled his nose at the thought of the stale selection at the shoe store in town. Everyone else at school got shoes ordered online, but Dad didn’t use credit cards so he never got _anything_ cool. Dad said you can’t trust the internet with things like money but John B wished dad would realize that it was impossible to be cool with only the clothes and shoes that existed on Kildare.

“We need to go to the mainland,” John B said confidently, “We need better shoes.” Dad raised his eyebrows. “Sir,” he added.

“We ain’t doing that. One hour, two, we go to O'Dell's. That’s damn speedy service, and we’ll go to JJ’s house to get some cash for his shoes too.

John B looked down at JJ’s feet and looked away quick once he saw that JJ had most of his black skater shoes on, except the end. The heel-end was folded under JJ’s heel which hung over the edge of the shoe. If John B needed new shoes now, JJ probably needed them all summer long.

But he shook his head. “We don’t have--I have new shoes at home so it’s okay.”

“Eh, I’ll talk to your daddy. Go watch TV or something.”

Dad never did anything on time, ever, but they were at JJ’s house before too long. In the backseat, JJ said, “I gotta go inside and stuff because I already have shoes. Jordans, actually, my mom sent them to me.”

Dad didn’t look back at JJ. “Yeah, that’s great, let’s get some just in case. Stay here bud, I’ll be right back.”

They were parked in a place where they could see the front or back door, but JJ still got out and craned his head trying to see, so John B got out too. They heard Dad’s calm man voice, and JJ’s dad, who yelled all the time and was yelling now.

All, _come here and telling me how to raise my kid, what’s he saying over there, see if I ever--no--no--shit. Shut up. Get out here or I’ll--_

“Your dad is stupid,” JJ said.

“ _Your_ dad is stupid,” John B said.

But John B’s not-stupid dad came back, holding a thin stack of folded cash and saying,” Alright, off we go.”

JJ ran up to Dad and grabbed his wrist to see the money. Dad turned his wrist to let JJ hold it, but JJ jumped back like Dad had hit him with it instead, then covered by walking backward all cool.

“Cool,” JJ said, “I don’t need new shoes, really, but we could get some, I guess.”

John B knew his friend was lying, but he smacked him in the shoulder like he believed him. “Shut up, dude, we don’t all have Jordans.”

JJ and John B got back in dad’s big green car. “I can ask my mom to send you some,” JJ said.

Liar.

“Nah, we’re getting new shoes anyway. I’ll just get cooler onces than you.”

O'Dell's was totally meant for old people, and Dad just didn’t get that. It was the size of their living room with benches in the middle and one wall of adult shoes and one wall of kids shoes, and for the first time, Mr. O’Dell measured John B’s feet with the metal foot ruler and said, “You’re ready for adult sizes, bud.”

John B looked over his shoulder at the wall of leather tennis shoes, fishing boots and fancy lace up shoes and felt despair.

“Dad, we can order online, can’t we?” John B asked. “We ordered the tarps online.”

Dad flicked John B on the side of his head. “Don’t be rude Bird. Go pick out some shoes. Up to thirty dollars, okay?”

John B didn’t even get up because he saw the tags on all the shoes and that there were five choices and they were all so lame.

JJ got told all the same, that he had to wear grown up shoes and could only spend thirty dollars which didn't even make sense because JJ’s dad always had lots of money, but JJ didn’t mind, he just came over and pointed out a sixth pair of shoes that cost less than thirty dollars.

Dad watched them grab each shoe off the shelf and asked O’Dell, “Is it too much trouble to bring each one in their sizes?”

And Mr. O’Dell said, “No trouble, done it for just about every boy their age on the island.”

John B groaned. “Dad we’re going to look like everyone else.”

Dad sat down on the middle bench with a groan, his legs all folded up because he was so tall and the benches were so low. “We don’t gotta get you new shoes today. JJ, let’s just get your shoes, John B can keep what he has.”

“ _Dad_.”

He didn’t have to be so uncool _all the time_ , but John B shut up while Mr. O’Dell brought all the shoes out. John B started suspecting that maybe JJ’s mom did send him Jordan’s, because he wasn’t bugged at all by the stupid white and black tennis shoes they had to choose between, he just quietly tried them on and looked in the little mirrors near the floor.

“I want these,” JJ said, looking at Dad for permission. He had the white, fabric like shoes on, and John B stayed shut up about how dumb the looked, because that just meant John B didn’t have to think about getting those ones.

“Let me see,” Dad said, gesturing for him to come closer. JJ walked over and stayed still while Dad used his shoulder for balance to lean over and feel around the toe. “Looks good. You can get these.” JJ nodded seriously and John B stared until Dad said, “Bird, you pick fast and we’ll go to the diner for supper.”

“Me too?” JJ asked.

“You’re ‘we,’ aren’t you?” Dad asked.

John B sat on the ground trying on different shoes, and JJ sat next to him offering his opinion until he picked out a puffy black pair. He picked up a pair of green shoe laces by the register while Dad was checking out. He handed them to JJ behind his back, and JJ wordlessly stuck them in his waistband and they walked out of O’Dells super cool and chill. The green laces would up his shoes by at least three levels.

Dad was a really good dad though, even though it wasn’t cool to buy shoes at O’Dellls, because he let them order coke at the diner and asked for extra crayons while they were leaving, because he knew John B was getting too old to do that on his own, but he still needed more stuff to draw with.

And he was a good...whatever he was to JJ. He didn’t know if JJ thought about his dad at all, but Dad thought about JJ all the time. Like how JJ’s house was much further south than their house, and JJ would walk to their house alone, but Dad always drove him home, and sometimes when things seemed weird at JJ’s house, he just turned right around and said he was spending the night.

Things were weird when Dad tried to drive him home after the diner, even if John B wasn’t really sure what was weird about it. A few hours ago the only car in front of the house was JJs dad’s, but now there were seven other cars, and noise John B couldn’t label coming from the dirty yellow house. It was loud, and somehow it hurt to hear. JJ leaned out the open window, holding hard onto his seatbelt with one hand, and his other hand pressed over the shoe box with his old shoes in them.

Dad looked at the house like he was making a decision, then all at once, he reversed out of the yard and back on the road in one move. “Don’t have your stuff, John Jacob. Might as well go home and spend the night. We’ll take you and your backpack home in the morning.”

“Okay,” JJ said fast, “You said we could rent a movie and we haven’t yet.”

“Well then we gotta take you home, don’t we.”

Dad would be crazy mad if John B stayed the night at someone's house without telling him. One time he stayed at JJ’s house until two in the morning because they got caught up tring to move JJ’s bedroom furniture, and when Dad came over to get him, he yelled louder than JJ’s dad for the first time ever. He took both of them home, even though John B was in trouble and JJ’s dad wasn’t even _there_.

John B had a feeling that JJ’s dad wouldn’t be mad about JJ staying another night, not when he had a lot of other people crowding up the house.

They got to rent The Maze Runner again. Dad stayed with them for the first few minutes, then went into his office and closed the door. He’d probably be in there for another two days, and he definitely wouldn’t be out sooner enough to catch John B taking two beers out of the fridge. While he was doing that, JJ went into his bedroom and came out with John B’s shoebox of markers and crayons.

He sat on the floor and took the beer John B offered him. JJ was holding onto the crayons from the diner, and he dropped them in the box, but pulled out the handful of colored Sharpies John B had. He slowly and carefully drew blue and green waves on his white shoes.

“What was happening at your house?” John B asked.

“You know,” JJ said.

And John B didn’t know, but JJ had always been more grown up and experienced in some ways, and John B didn’t want to let on that he didn’t know something that JJ thought was so simple it didn’t require an explanation.

“Yeah,” John B agreed.

JJ shifted and pulled the pack of green laces out of his back pocket. “Here, do yours.”

John B accepted the laces and pulled his new shoes off. When he was done threading the green laces in, he held them up to JJ. They weren’t totally lame, and JJ held up his drawn on tennis shoes, and they weren’t bad either.

“We’re going to be cool,” JJ decided.

“We’re already cool,” John B said.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I truly think the word "we" is one of the warming, kindest words in the English language. I could spend so much time looking at the imperfect way JJ was probably enveloped into their family. Big John is not a perfect dad by any means, my god, but he would be such a refuge for JJ.


End file.
